Angkor and Cambodia in the Sixteenth Century
Title: Angkor and Cambodia in the Sixteenth Century - According to Portuguese and Spanish Sources (186 pages - First English Edition, 2006)
(Orginally published as: "Angkor et le Cambodge au XVIe siecle d'apres les sources portugaises et espagnoles", Presses Universitaires de France, 1958)
Author: B-P Groslier (Translated by Michael Smithies)
Publisher: Orchid Press, P.O. Box 19, Yuttitham Post Office, Bangkok 10907, Thailand
ISBN: 974-524-053-2
*****
From the back of the book jacket:
Groslier's seminal study of the accounts of early Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and adventurers in Cambodia was published in French in 1958, and is translated here into English for the first time.
The reports of the Europeans record the earliest surviving first-hand accounts of Angkor, following the "rediscovery" of the site by the Khmers, over a hundred years after its abondment in 1432 CE, and four hundred years prior to the colonization of Cambodia by the French.
While the accounts are fascinating in their own right, Groslier employs some of their key observations on the structure of Angkor in the 16th century to embark further exploration of his own into the nature of Khmer civilization. Complementing his studies of the early accounts with first aerial surveys of the site, Groslier reconstructs a braod picture of Angkorian civilization, its economy, the genius of its engineers and planners, its unique religious foundations and the pivotal humanitarian role of its god-kings.
"Angkor and Cambodia in the Sixteenth Century" represents one of the major breakthroughs in our understanding of this rich and complex medieval Asian culture, and is a pillar on which all subsequent studies have been built. Essential for all readers, both scholarly and lay, who seek to further understand the society responsible for the construction of the great monuments of ancient Angkor.
*****
Bernard-Philippe Groslier (1926-1986), son of the famed art historian, George Groslier, was born in Cambodia and educated in Paris at the Sorbonne and the Louvre. Returning to Indochina, he began a long and productive career with the French National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), and the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient (EFEO) under the auspices of which he engaged in the study and restoration of many important ancient khmer monuments.
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posted by Jinja @ 5:32 PM
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